Beyond Stars
by persian85033
Summary: Well, Black Lady and Mistress 9 will return in this story.
1. Chapter 1

"And we're going to go for the first time, Diana!"Small Lady said.

Diana nodded.

"Oh, yes! Isn't it exciting?"

"What do you think we'll see there? What do you think it's like?"Small Lady asked, excitedly.

It was their first trip to Sagittarius Zero Star. The King, Queen, Luna, Artemis, the Senshi, except for Saturn, and the Shitenou went each Earth year. This year would be the first time Small Lady, Saturn and Diana would be going as well. Other Senshi, from other star systems also attended, to celebrate the defeat of Chaos.

"I think I've seen it in my dreams."Saturn said, seriously.

"Really?"Small Lady and Diana looked exceptionally interested.

Saturn nodded.

"I think that's what it must be like."Saturn said, looking serious. "I see this place sometimes, in my dreams, and it's not what anyplace I've been. At least not that I can remember. I think it must be Sagittarius Zero Star."

"What's it like?"asked Small Lady.

"Tell us, please, Princess Saturn."said Diana.

"Well, it's kind of hard to describe."Saturn told them. She thought quietly. "It's…full of light…a lot of light."Saturn said thoughtfully. "It's very gorgeous, and whenever I dream of it, I feel cheerful."

"I wonder if it'll be like that!"exclaimed Diana.

"I can't wait!"said Small Lady.

"But we won't leave for a few weeks."Diana reminded them.

"That's true."said Saturn.

"Oh, well, why don't we go outside instead."Diana suggested.

"Yes!"

They walked out to the gardens of the Crystal Palace, and kept discussing what Sagitarrius Zero Star would be like.


	2. Chapter 2

Luna and Artemis stood before Small Lady, Diana, and Saturn.

"And remember, that when we'll be meeting royalty and nobility from many other star systems."Luna said. "So you must all remember to behave yourselves at all times. Absolutely no blunders!"she said, looking at Diana in particular.

"No, Mama."Diana said.

"I'm counting on all of you to behave yourselves."

Artemis chuckled.

"She's probably putting a little more pressure on you girls than Queen Serenity herself."he said.

"Are we the only ones going?"asked Small Lady.

"Of course. Everyone else is still too young."he confirmed.

"Oh, goody! And we can tease them!"Small Lady giggled. "And we'll bring them back souvenirs!"

Saturn nodded.

"Yay!"

Diana climbed back on Small Lady's head.

"Let's go!"

They were about to run out of the room. Luna cleared her throat.

"Ladies don't run!"she said. "They walk. We can't have anything like this at Sagitarius! Perhaps I should speak to the Queen, and you are not really prepared to assist."she said.

"No!"all three said.

They changed their pace, and walked sedately, at least while Luna and Artemis were still observing, then they ran off, as soon as soon as they were out of sight.

"Do you really think we're doing the right thing, Artemis?"Luna asked, nervously.

Artemis walked next to her.

"Of course. We couldn't really put it off any longer, could we?"he asked her.

Luna sighed.

"Probably not, but I'm worried about Small Lady and Saturn."

Artemis looked surprised.

"Why?"

Luna looked thoughtful.

"I'm not sure. Sagitarius…and…"she said, looking uneasily. "Oh, well."she shrugged. "We have to go to the conference room with the King, Queen, and everyone else."

They made their way to the conference room. Small Lady, and Saturn watched them.

"They're probably going to have a meeting."Saturn said. "I wonder what they talk about. Pluto, Uranus, and Neptune never tell me anything about their meetings or conferences."

"We know a way to eavesdrop."Diana said.

"True."Small Lady nodded.

"Really?"Saturn looked interested.

"Of course. Mommy and Daddy never found out we heard anything."

Saturn looked impressed.

"Wow. Do you think we could eavesdrop on them now?"she asked.

Small Lady smiled.

"Well, let's go!"she said.

In the conference room, Queen Serenity, King Endymion, the eight guardians, four Senshi, and four Shitenou, Luna and Artemis. The three Outer Senshi were also there by trimensic.

"That time again."Neptune said.

She sat against an aquamarine background, designed with seashells.

"I don't think we should go this year."Mars said.

"Why do you think that?"Kunzite asked her.

"I have a bad premonition about it."Mars told him.

"But we've always attended."Mercury said. "What could possibly be different about this year?"

Zoicite sipped his drink.

"Maybe nothing over there, but maybe here?"he suggested. "I mean, maybe there's something wrong over here, not over there, and instead of everyone going over there, some of us stay here?"

"That doesn't sound like a bad suggestion."Artemis commented.

Mercury typed away on her computer.

"Hmm, doesn't look like there's anything out of the ordinary…"she said. "Everything seems in perfect order."

"Maybe for once, your premonition is wrong?"Jadeite suggested, calmly.

Mars forced a small smile.

"Perhaps you're right. Or I'm just overreacting, or am a little nervous."

Everyone relaxed, visibly.

"Well, then why don't we go ahead with everything."Pluto suggested.

Everyone smiled, and looked happy, beginning to plan the trip.

"Wow."Saturn said. "Do you think anything will happen while we're over there?"

"Hmm."

"Probably not."Diana said.

"I hope something exciting does happen!"Small Lady exclaimed.


	3. Chapter 3

They were on a spaceship a few weeks later. They had come to the decision that Mars's premonition was probably just a false alarm. Small Lady looked out at the stars surrounding the ship.

"But I thought that they would look brighter."she told Pluto.

"They do look brighter on Pluto."Pluto told her. "But we're not there just yet. We still have to escape the Sun's gravity, and once we're outside Pluto's orbit, the stars will look like you've never seen them."she assured her.

"I've never really seen them from anywhere other than Earth."said Saturn sadly. "I've never even been on Saturn."she looked sad.

"When you're older."Neptune told her. "Then you'll go to Saturn, as Planetary Princess of Saturn."she assured Saturn.

That seemed to cheer Saturn up a bit, and she turned back to the view, looking happier.

"Is it going to take long for us to get there?"asked Small Lady.

"Most of the times the trip takes is spent escaping a star's gravity, and of course, we can't arrive out of hyperspace too close to a star, either. So we can't just get to Sagitarius Star right away."Mercury told her.

Small Lady, Diana, and Saturn looked confused.

"I don't know much about space travel."Diana said.

Space travel wasn't something that came up very often in their studies.

"Well, you should know which constellations are visible from here, though."Mercury told them. "Perhaps you could find them. Astronomy is something you should have received by now."she turned to Nephrite sternly. "Unless you haven't been receiving your astronomy lessons properly."

"I think they've probably done better at that, than any of the arithmetic, and all that you've taught them. At least I don't pressure them, or give them as much homework."Nephrite told Mercury.

"They do say you're the strictest, Mercury."Jupiter told them.

"I like baking better."said Small Lady. "Jupiter always bakes us such great cookies!"

"You're supposed to be learning to bake the cookies! Not just eating them!"Mercury told them.

Queen Serenity looked away guiltily. She had always attended the girls' cooking classes, as she enjoyed eating the cookies herself as well. Although she usually arrived late, by the time they were finished, and there were only whole batches of cookies, waiting to be eaten.

"Just what kind of an education are we going to be giving our future Queen?"Mercury asked.

"Don't worry."Jadeite told her. "I'm sure you'll have better pupils, when you have your own kids. Or maybe they'll end up teaching you. Or competing against you."

"That's probably true."Mars agreed with him.

The two young girls, and the kitten spend the rest of the journey, watching the stars. They especially exclaimed when the star view suddenly changed, when they emerged from hyperspace.

"Did you also see the stars like that when you came here first, Mommy?"asked Small Lady. "Did you really come flying, and not a spaceship?"a

Queen Serenity nodded.

"Yes."she answered quietly. She really preferred not to discuss that subject.

"We'll be there in a few hours at the most."Pluto walked in from the pilot room and told them.

Small Lady and Saturn jumped and squealed with excitement.

"We're so close!"Small Lady squealed. "Isn't it amazing?"

Here, closer to the center of the Galaxy, the stars seemed to crowd each other, there seemed almost no black space between them.

"How is it going to be night?"asked Small Lady. "It's almost as bright as day."

"No, it's not. They're brighter than the stars at night, but they're not bright enough like the day."Saturn told her.

"They are bright, though, Princess Saturn."Diana answered.

"We're almost at the Palace."Queen Serenity said, looking at the star filled sky. "That's where the celebration is always held."

"It looks pretty from here."Diana said, as they approached the castle.

"I think the Crystal Palace is prettier, though."Small Lady said.

Saturn nodded.

"I do, too. This one doesn't shine as pretty."

"You'll see once we get there."Endymion told them.

The spaceship landed, and they disembarked. The first sight of the castle was of several other ships, from other star systems, carrying the senshi from other stars.

"Wow! I've never seen so many people, even at court, Diana."Small Lady told Diana.

"But Small Lady you've never really attended the Royal Court. Only a couple of times. And even then, for only a little while. Only an hour at the most."Diana answered.

"But there's so many people here. Important people, too, probably."she said, looking excited.

"First, we should get some rest, I think."Jupiter said. "I guess we'll be staying in the same ward."

"Where else?"asked Mars. She was obviously very weary. "And before we greet anyone, too. I'm exhausted."

Small Lady, Diana and Saturn looked around, wide eyed, not wanting to miss a thing. The people emerging from the other spaceships all looked so different from the people they'd ever seen on Earth, or on any of the other planets, when they'd visited them.

"Oh, wow! Just look at that dress!"Small Lady pointed to one of the girls emerging from one of the bigger space ships. The dress she wore was covered in lace, and had more ribbons and bows than even Venus's. Her hair was also done in a dazzling style, and it seemed to them that she wore more jewelry than all the planetary princesses of the Solar System put together.

"How long does it take her to get ready each day? And at the end of the day, too?"asked Diana in astonishment.

The girl seemed to notice their fixed gazes, and turned. She wore a cloak that trailed behind her dress as well as her long skirt.

"Oh, wow. Who do you think she is?"Small Lady turned to her parents. "Can we talk to her?"

"Later."Queen Serenity told her daughter.


	4. Chapter 4

Amaterasu watched the approaching castle. It really wasn't her favorite time, going by the Earth year. Like most of the princess and senshi of the other stellar systems, she tended not to travel much. As a matter of fact, like other Solarians, she hardly ever left her estate. She disliked the small space ship, and even to an extent the castle at Sagitarius. It simply wasn't…home. It simply wasn't home. There was nothing like being on her estate, in her own mansion, attended by her staff, who knew just how to look after her. Oh, well, it was customary of all of them to attend the ceremony. After all, it was the end of the Chaos.

The spaceship landed, and Amaterasu took her fan, and rose to disembark. She took out her handkerchief, and put it to her nose. She would have to brace herself, as always. Stepping off the ship, onto the surface, she looked around, awed. It always amazed, and even though she hated to admit it, it always thrilled her. Looking at the different people around, it felt like a multi view, only everyone there could be touched, and smelled. She smelled the lilac scent she always associated with the princess of Kinmoku, and several other alien scents the others brought from their own planets. After a while, she seemed to notice them less, and was able to remove the handkerchief from her nose, and walk away from the ship.

Looking around, she 'turned off' her telepathy, so as to not be overwhelmed by their thoughts. She made her way, being careful not to touch anyone. It amused her to look around at what the others wore. On Solaria, functionality was at the very bottom. The last thing that was important. Things should be beautiful, decorative and ornamental. There were no sharp edges, or anything plain. At least not on her estate. Noticing her surroundings, she began to notice how the others were dressed. She clicked her tongue. Obviously, some of the others were somewhat barbaric, and plain. They obviously weren't too concerned about looking pleasant, some were outright plain.

Even not scanning the crowd telepathically, she noticed that someone's attention focused on her. She turned, noticed two small girls, one with a small gray cat on her head. She'd never seen them there before, but she thought one looked vaguely familiar. Of course, she realized, once she had scanned her mind. She was Queen Serenity's daughter. Amaterasu smiled, and started to wave, but stopped, and frowned. While scanning the mind, and thought she saw another peering out from within. She turned, and walked away.

Small Lady and Saturn looked from room to room, exploring the castle.

"Wow! It's pretty!"Diana exclaimed.

"Yup. And when do we get to meet everyone?"Small Lady asked.

"Well, you three haven't been here before, so you'll have to be introduced."Luna told them.

"But we haven't seen anyone else."Saturn complained.

"You'll have to wait until the ball."she said.

"There's a ball?!"asked Small Lady, enthusiastically.

Luna nodded.

"Of course."

Small Lady and Saturn looked excited.

"Oh, boy, I wonder who we'll meet!"Saturn exclaimed.

"Royalty, and nobility, of course."Luna told them. "So I expect you to behave yourselves."she added, sternly.

Small Lady rolled her eyes.

"Kunzite told us the exact same thing just a little while ago."she said.

"And he's absolutely right."Luna said again. "We don't want to put King Endymion, Queen Serenity, and Crystal Tokyo in a bad light among all the foreigners, do we?"

"And what makes you think we'll be the ones to put everyone in a bad light. I say that Kunzite always does, because he never does anything fun. He's always so…strict. What if everyone thinks we're like that?"Small Lady demanded.

"Kunzite simply worries about giving a professional appearance and things like that. You know how he is."said Artemis. "Instead of complaining about him, you girls should watch him, and learn a bit. Make the proper comments and all that. Although I have to agree with you on the fact that he's not the most intelligent person, and he's so critical of everything and everybody."he shook his head. "Not a very pleasant sort of person at all. I will never begin to understand why Venus married him, much less why she loves him so much. She should never have married anyone so below her-"he stopped, noticing the frown on Luna's face. "Um, anyway, what I really meant is that Kunzite is really…a very…good teacher for you girls where things like manners and such are concerned."

"Why was Mama looking at you funny, Daddy?"Diana asked him.

"Huh?"Artemis looked confused, and turned to Luna.

"Yeah, you suddenly changed your mind about Kunzite when you saw that Luna looked like she suddenly got some very bad news, or something."Small Lady told him.

"Uh, I don't know what you girls are talking about."he said, glancing sideways at Luna, who was indeed, throwing him warning looks. "You girls must be imagining things."he said sternly. "So, why don't you just go tour the castle, and we'll talk about the ball later."he told them, and he and Luna disappeared around a corner.

"I think Luna's mad that Artemis doesn't like Kunzite."Small Lady told Saturn and Diana.

"I think so, too, Small Lady. But no one really likes Kunzite. Except King Endymion and Queen Serenity a little, and Princess Venus, but I think that's because she has no choice, and she's married to him. Married people have to like each other. Or they wouldn't be married."Diana said wisely.

Small Lady and Saturn nodded.

"That's true, Diana."Small Lady answered thoughtfully. "Do you think Luna likes Kunzite, then?"she asked.

"Mama's never acted like she did. Daddy's never liked him, though. He sometimes shakes his head, saying that Princess Venus married below her, and that she deserves better, and sometimes that makes Mama mad, and sometimes she just says that Venus knows what she's doing, and she's old enough to decide for herself, and she feels sorry for anyone who might want to marry me, because if he gives Kunzite a hard time, any other cat who might court me doesn't stand a chance."Diana explained to them.

"So he doesn't want you to get married?"Saturn asked incredously. "Wow. I thought everyone got married."

"Not everyone."Small Lady interrupted. "Remember, in our study of Interstellar History, there are some star systems where not everyone marries. Even one where no one EVER marries."

Saturn nodded.

"That's true. Do you think we'll meet them?"

"Maybe. Everyone from all the star systems is here. We're bound to bump into them, don't you think!"

"Do you think we'll get invited to visit other planets!"Saturn wanted very much to see other planets, as she was too young to rule at Titon Castle yet. "Do you think they have their own castles? Just like in our star system?"

"They probably do."said Small Lady looking very serious. "But do you really think there might be a chance that we'll get invited?"she looked excited at the thought.

Saturn smiled.

"I hope so."Diana added. "It'll be fun, just to hear about their planets, though."

The girls nodded.

"You're right, Diana."

They heard footsteps, and they saw Jupiter walking down the corridor towards them.

"What have you three been up to?"she asked.

"We were just looking around."Saturn said.

Jupiter smiled.

"Well, it's time to start getting ready for the ball this evening."she told them.

Small Lady nodded.

"Luna and Artemis told us that there's always a ball here. Will it be like the ones Mommy and Daddy give at home?"she asked.

"Not quite. There'll be a lot more people here, and most of them are foreigners, of course. I hope you've been studying your Interstellar enough. That'll be what's spoken most around here. Although…"Jupiter hesitated. "Well, that might not be quite a good idea. You never know. Nothing pleases some people more than the fact that you know their speech. Nothing angers others more than the fact that you can't get their language right. You learn to tell who's pleased and who gets angry after a while, but just to be safe, stick to your Interstellar tonight, all right."

Both girls and the kitten nodded.

"We will."Small Lady assured her.

"What will everybody wear?"Saturn asked.

Jupiter laughed.

"These balls are always fun. Since everyone's from a different star system, there's so much variety! You should just see what some people wear!"she laughed. "But try not to laugh, or make comments. It's hard sometimes, but some get easily offended."she added seriously.

They walked to their own quarters to get ready for the big event.


	5. Chapter 5

The ballroom at the castle was the only one that was even halfway as big as the ballroom at the Crystal Palace in Crystal Tokyo. Small Lady and Saturn were more interested in the guests than they were in the room itself.

"Wow! It's not like when we snuck down, and peeked through the doors or windows at the balls given back home!"Small Lady said.

"It's so diverse, for want of a better word."Saturn agreed.

Even though they'd seen some of the guests when they had gotten off the spaceship, they saw that what they'd seen then was only the tip of the iceberg.

Amaterasu stood in a corner, away from the crowd. It amused her to watch Princess Mercury's thoughts. She could tell that for most of her youth, she'd been what most people would term a wallflower. Of course there were no such things on Solaria, as balls were never given, but that was probably what the term they would use for her, as she was standing away from the crowd, and not dancing. Amaterasu knew how to dance, of course, but she'd never danced with so many people viewing, much less watching, of course. Only the laborers had ever seen such a thing. She thought it comical to observe how Zoicite struggled with his Mercurian. She shook her head. Only Solarians had such an aptitude for languages. Despite that she was the only Solarian to ever leave the planet, even once every Earth year, she had never come across a native from any other star system who could master languages the way a Solarian could. And she herself was the best, although she rarely practiced them, which was absolutely unnecessary, thanks to the fact that like others of her star system, she possessed the transducer lobes that allowed her to transducer energy, including the mental energy of those around her.

"Oh, look!"exclaimed Small Lady, pointing to Amaterasu. "It's the same lady we saw when we arrived!"

"Do you know where she comes from?"Saturn asked. "Can you guess?"she asked Diana.

Diana shook her head.

"Your parents are both always at those meetings, you could get something out of them. Especially Artemis."

"Daddy says diplomatic things are just for grown ups."Diana told them.

"No, diplomatic things are just for people like Kunzite."Small Lady corrected. "Who never know how to have fun."

She pointed.

"It looks more like he's on patrol, or something, instead of at a ball. At least everyone else has danced at least once. I thought that was what the staff was here for. For security, to see to the guests and everything. He hasn't even danced with Venus."

"But, Small Lady,"Diana began. "The lady we saw hasn't danced, either. Although she doesn't seem interested in security, and no one's asked her, either."

Saturn and Small Lady looked confused.

"Maybe she can't, or she doesn't know how."Saturn looked thoughtful. "We know how. Maybe if we taught her!"she suggested.

Small Lady smiled and nodded.

"You're right! Should we go?"

Saturn and Diana nodded. They walked up to the girl sitting by several bouquets of flowers, watching the crowd, and sipping wine.

"I am Small Lady Serenity, Princess of Crystal Tokyo, daughter of King Endymion, and Queen Serenity."Small Lady recited, curtsying.

Amaterasu turned, as two young girls and a kitten approached her. That was odd. She was sure that they had never attended before. After all, everyone else who was here knew well enough that she wasn't comfortable with people coming so close, and they made sure to give her plenty of personal space. One of the girls, the one with pink hair, introduced herself as the princess of Crystal Tokyo. Amaterasu simply nodded slowly. She wasn't used to children, to be honest, she'd never even viewed one since she was one herself, but that was very very many years before, and was grateful her voluminous dress made it impossible for the girls to get too close.

"Did I do it wrong?"asked the little girl.

"The introduction?"Amaterasu asked. "No, I don't think so."

Another oddity. Since all adult Solarians knew one another, introductions were never necessary. She rested her fan, held in her gloved hand, on her skirt.

"You have a very pretty dress."Saturn told her.

"Princess Saturn, you forgot to introduce yourself!"Diana exclaimed to Saturn.

Amaterasu smiled at Diana's exclamation.

"Oh, right."the other girl nodded, and repeated the same formula the Princess of Crystal Tokyo had.

"I suppose that must mean that I should do the same as well, doesn't it?"she asked, opening her fan to its widest, and fanning herself calmly. "I am Amaterasu, Princess of the planet of Solaria, and Ruler of the Imperial Estate on Solaria."

"I really like your dress."Saturn repeated.

Amaterasu nodded.

"Mine looks kind of plain compared to it."she added.

Amaterasu smiled, and shook her head.

"Well,"she said, shrugging, and looking at her dress. "It is simply a dress."she dismissed the comment.

"Does everyone dress like that on your planet?"Small Lady asked.

"I…have no clue."Amaterasu admitted, knowing she really didn't really know what other Solarians wore.

Saturn and Small Lady looked confused.

"Why not? Don't you ever see them?"Diana asked.

"Of course not!"Amaterasu looked truly horrified. "I must see natives of other planets because I bear the Sailor Crystal for Solaria, but a Solarian would never allow personal presence."

Small Lady reached out to touch the silky material of the dress.

"It looks so soft, and shiny, and it changes color!"she said, reaching out.

Amaterasu exclaimed and backed away from Small Lady's hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry."Small Lady apologized, looking confused.

Amaterasu calmed, and sat back down.

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to it. It only happens once every Earth year, and I still have a very hard time with it. You must forgive me. Everyone here knows my…unusual customs."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Amaterasu shrugged it off.

"You didn't know."

"I'm so sorry!"Jupiter looked distressed, as she approached the young girls with Amaterasu. "I do hope they didn't bother you. They've never attended before. I'm afraid it's my fault. I should've kept a closer eye on them, and told them before coming."

"It's all right."Amaterasu dismissed it lightly.

Jupiter took both girls by the hand, and led them away from Amaterasu.


	6. Chapter 6

Amaterasu threw her robe on, as she prepared to set up viewing contact. Usually she wouldn't bother with the robe. It was only viewing, after all, but it was a taboo on other planets to allow anyone to view one not dressed appropriately.

"I should have just viewed her dressed in the same gown I wore to the ball."she said to herself, being enormously relieved to be alone.

She thought the rooms in the castle were too small. In her mansion each room was at least five times as large, along with all the windows, and it had much more furniture in each room as well.

"I'm so glad that's over!"said Mars.

She pointed her finger at Jadeite.

"It's obvious that you just never learn, do you?"she said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Never learn?"Jadeite asked nervously.

He didn't know what Mars was talking about, but her tone of voice was making him nervous. He cowered, watching as her eyes flashed.

"Uh, I really have no idea what you're talking about…"he said.

"You have no idea?!"she asked in a low voice. "Every year!"

Hearing her last words, he suddenly knew what she was talking about. He knew just how jealous Mars could be. And in how much danger he was whenever she thought he'd been paying any attention to any woman other than herself.

"But I didn't do anything this year! I didn't even ask anyone to dance. Besides you!"he told her desperately.

"Don't think I didn't notice just how impressed you were when you looked at that disgusting Sirian!"

Jadeite was absolutely puzzled. Sirian, Sirian. The problem with these balls was that there so many people, it became hard to remember who was who.

"Um, the one with one bracelet and watch on each wrist?"he asked.

He remembered that anyone from a binary star system usually wore two of everything. Necklaces, bracelets, watches, rings, earrings, any piece of jewelry. Mars's eyes flashed, and he thought he'd be safer hiding under the bed, or in the closet, even. Fortunately, to his good fortune, Mars seemed to have forgotten her anger momentarily.

_I wish to set up viewing contact,_ she heard a voice telling her, in perfect Martian.

As soon as Mars accepted, a perfect image of Amaterasu sat before her. So life like, one would have thought that they were sitting in the same room. The only thing that gave it away as an image was the fact the background behind Amaterasu, which was in soft pastels of purple and gold, instead of red, dark purple and black behind Mars.

Jadeite made a mental note to thanks the Solarian for having saved him from Mars's anger, but then decided that probably wouldn't be such a good idea. If Mars caught him, he'd probably be worse off. These balls certainly weren't the better part of the trip. With so many women around, Mars always got jealous.

Mars sat in a chair in front of the fireplace.

"We haven't viewed for a long time."she told Amaterasu.

Amaterasu shrugged.

"There were two new people at the ball this evening."Amaterasu said. "They spoke to me."

Mars frowned, then smiled.

"Oh, you must be talking about Princess Saturn and Small Lady."she said. "Yes, they were very excited about coming. It is the first year. Small Lady is the daughter of King Endymion and Queen Serenity, and Saturn is the planetary senshi for the planet Saturn."

"Saturn."Amaterasu said, with a look of concentration on her face. "Saturn…I guess that would explain it?"she asked.

Mars's smile vanished, and a look of confusion replaced it.

"Explain what?"she asked, looking completely confused.

"That when the two girls approach, even though I saw with my eyes that there two, my mind told me there were four."Amaterasu told her.

Mars looked more confused than ever.

"Four?"she asked, bewildered. "What are you talking about?"

Even Jadeite listened intendly.

"I sensed four. Four…minds."she told her.

"But how? I thought that only Small Lady and Saturn were talking to you."Jadeite said.

"They were talking to me, but there were two others. There were two bodies, but four minds present."

"How?"

Amaterasu looked bewildered.

"I thought you would know! You are the ones who brought them here. And you've lived with them. Besides, they felt…malevolent. Almost…"she did not know any other way to describe it. "Perhaps…Chaos?"she said timidly.

"That's impossible!"exclaimed Jadeite.

Amaterasu nodded.

"Thank you! It is, isn't it? That's why I'm worried! It really can't be? Can it?"she said, anxiously.

Mars was speechless.

"But, but you're a Solarian."said Jadeite. "You must be mistaken! After all, how many people do you really see? How many minds do you really have a chance to study? You must be mistaken."Jadeite said calmly.

"Why and how could Chaos ever have…"Mars began.

"I don't know! But I could study them more carefully."Amaterasu said.

"It's possible that you are mistaken. Like Jadeite said, you really don't know much about people. Even if you are telepathic."

Amaterasu nodded.

"I do hope so."

"I think we need to call an emergency meeting."Mars said, getting up.

"But everyone should probably be asleep at this hour! And anyway, we agreed that the Solarian is probably mistaken, anyway."Jadeite said.

It wouldn't be a good idea to have Kunzite hear about this. Mars frowned.

"Perhaps you're right."she admitted.

"I must study both of them more carefully."Amaterasu said. "Done viewing."she said, and the image disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"It's not possible."said Mars. "It really isn't."

"I think I have a headache, Diana."Small Lady told her cat.

"Do you want me to get someone to help, Small Lady?"Diana asked.

"No, I don't think so."Smally Lady replied. "It's all right."

"It must be from the ball. After all, there were so many people, and it did last quite a while. You're not used to that, Small Lady."

"You're probably right, Diana. It'll probably go away as soon as I get some sleep."she said. "Good night, Diana."

"Good night, Small Lady."


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, Amaterasu decided to eat breakfast with Small Lady and Saturn. _It's just as if we were viewing,_ she told herself. She hated to dine in the personal presence of others, so she usually dined alone. That wasn't uncommon here. Some people felt uncomfortable dining in such an elegant setting, others didn't like to mingle with foreigners, so everyone usually dined in their own quarters. She broke her custom, and dined with them, although at the opposite end of the table, and tried not to notice that they were in the same room, by ignoring the backgrounds. After all, when one viewed someone, the only difference was the background. She was at a complete loss as to what to say to them. They were, after all, children, and she didn't know anything about children. There were few whose business it was to know, and who raised the children, making sure that only the best graduated, and were sent to estates of their own. The others…Amaterasu wasn't sure what happened to the others. She didn't even know if there were any others. There were many when she was a child, but that had been along time ago. Instead, she tried to study their minds, trying not to think about them as children, but as…small adults?

"Um…"she started to say. _Say the same as if you were viewing,_ she told herself again. "Good morning."she said to them.

"Why did you want to eat with us?"Small Lady asked her.

"You spoke to me last night. I…thought that it would be…proper."Amaterasu replied.

This was going to be very difficult indeed, as she was so tense herself. She told herself to relax.

"We're very happy that you did."Saturn told her.

Amaterasu noticed that both girls seemed tired, and she confirmed it by seeing that they had not slept very well.

"I see you haven't slept very well. Bad dreams…"she nodded.

"How did you know?"they both asked at the same time, then turned to face each other, as she heard the other say the same thing.

Amaterasu looked surprised. Fortunately, they didn't seem to think much of it, they seemed more interested in the fact that both of them had had bad dreams.

"You had them, too?"Small Lady asked Saturn.

Saturn nodded.

"Hopefully they weren't as dreadful as the one's Small Lady had."Diana said, sounding worried.

Amaterasu turned toward Diana.

"You saw the dreams Small Lady had?"she asked Diana.

"It was horrible."Diana told her. "Small Lady didn't seem herself. She spoke in another voice, I think. It sounded like someone else's voice."

"Someone else…"Amaterasu said, sounding interested.

As Diana was a cat, Amaterasu had no problem getting close to her. After all, she had cats on her estate, and she saw several in the wilderness, among the trees, lakes, mountains, and plains on her estate.

"What did she say?"Amaterasu asked her.

"It was very…almost malevolent. She…"

"Did she say anything…"Amaterasu hesitated. "about…Queen Serenity? The Crystals, anything?"she asked.

Diana looked up.

"Um, it was revenge mostly."Diana answered.

"Revenge."Amaterasu nodded. "Do you wish for revenge, Small Lady?"she asked Small Lady.

Small Lady looked shocked, and shook her head.

"Revenge? On who? Why?"she asked.

"Why don't you tell me more about these dreams?"Amaterasu insisted.

"I don't remember my dreams."

Amaterasu frowned.

"But you must remember something! Anything about them!"

She knew she always did. But, of course, it was probably due to the fact that she was Solarian, and they weren't.

"There must be something to remember about them!"she insisted.

"I do!"Saturn remembered, suddenly. "There were crystals. A lot. And…"she trailed off. "It was like, very dark, and there weren't any lights, or sounds…but, I don't really remember anything else."

Amaterasu looked upset.

"That's it?"she asked.

"That's it."Saturn confirmed, nodding.

Amaterasu sighed. Well, it hadn't been hard to dine with them, but certainly not really productive.

"Why don't you tell me about your dream again?"she said to Saturn.

"But I just told you."Saturn told her.

"I would like you to repeat it. That way, I could remember it better."she said.

"All right,"she said, and repeated what she remembered about her dream.

As soon as she began to repeat, Amaterasu turned and dived into her mind. It was easier, since Saturn was trying to remember herself, as well. She could see the same images that Saturn was recalling. The darkness, the silence. Noticing the crystals, she thought, _that looks like a heart crystal!_

"How would you even have the slightest idea what a heart crystal looks like!"Amateras demanded from her.

Small Lady and Saturn looked confused.

"A heart crystal?"asked Saturn.

"Never mind!"Amaterasu said.

They both thought she looked extremely worried.

"What's wrong?"Diana asked.

Amaterasu shook herself.

"I'm sorry."she apologized. "I…was distracted. Um, I have to leave."she said, and stood suddenly. "I have to leave, I'm very sorry."

She walked out of the room.

"It seemed to me that something you said distressed her."Diana told Saturn.

Small Lady turned to Diana.

"What could that be?"she asked.

"I don't know, but I think we have to think about what you're going to wear to the ceremony today. And then, I think we're going to go back to Crystal Tokyo in a couple of days."

"Why do we have to leave so soon!"Small Lady whined.

"I think Mama and Daddy once told me it was because since everyone was here, there was no one to keep an eye on things back on Earth, and that anyway, if we stayed longer, we'd be here alone. Everyone else is anxious to get back to their own star systems as well, for the same reason."Diana told them.

"Can't we just send Kunzite back?"Small Lady suggested.

"I don't know. I could suggest it to the King and Queen, though."Diana said seriously

Saturn giggled.

"I don't think they would."she said.


	8. Chapter 8

"So, I heard that you ate breakfast with Small Lady and Saturn."Mars spoke to Amaterasu.

Amaterasu nodded.

"They both had bad dreams. Neither has them often, only rarely, but they were much more…powerful this time. They seem stamped in their minds."she said.

Mars frowned.

"Stamped in their minds?"she asked.

"Well, they've both had these dreams before, but very…rarely, and they were very vague. Obviously, they've never left their own star system, that might have something to do with it. Or it could simply be the fact that they are here."

Mars looked around.

"A lot of us come here every year!"she said, putting her hands on her hips. "What does that have to do with it?"she demanded.

Amaterasu shrugged.

"It could be their age. I don't know much about children. But none of us are children."

"A lot of us were quite young."

"Not children."Amaterasu insisted.

"And anyway, they aren't so young anymore, either."

Amaterasu looked out the window. She could imagine the star-filled sky, and wondered which among the sea of stars could be Solaria's sun.

"We'll be going home soon."she said. "Home."

"But what should we do about the problem?"Mars asked.

Amaterasu looked at her.

"I'm a little worried."she confessed. "In Saturn's mind there was a perfect image of several heart crystals. I would never have thought that she would have the slightest idea what a heart crystal would look like."

At the mention of the heart crystal, Amaterasu felt Mars's mind change.

"Oh, I've upset you."she said, nodding.

"But…that was SO long ago!"Mars said. "And…"

She seemed genuinely worried.

"I've heard of it. But I always thought that it was,"Amaterasu stopped, not finding the right word to describe it.

"It was a long time ago."Mars admitted. "And it, well, I remember just what happened, and how Sailor Moon defeated it."

"It can't be Chaos, yet it felt perfectly like Chaos."she insisted.

Mars wrung her hands.

"I think…everyone will be going home pretty soon, in a couple of days, I don't know if we should worry the king and queen with this."she said.

Amaterasu opened her fan.

"I don't know."

"I think we'll have to call an emergency meeting."Mars decided. "We have to find Artemis."she said. "You should also be present."

"I think I will only view."Amaterasu said, shaking her head.

"That's fine, but we have to do this as soon as possible."Mars insisted.

Amaterasu looked around. It seemed odd to have so many walls all close together, she thought. She headed back to her room, and waited to set up viewing contact. She tried to forget about the walls, and concentrate on what she had to do instead.

Everyone met in a large room, which Luna and Artemis had assigned as a conference room. A short while later, Amaterasu's image appeared.

"I don't understand a thing."Queen Serenity said. "You haven't said a single word about it, whatever it is."

Kunzite frowned.

"Perhaps we should prepare to return to Crystal Tokyo at once."Kunzite suggested, immediately.

"I don't know…maybe?"Mars said.

No one had ever seen Mars so uncomfortable before.

"Where're Small Lady and Saturn?"Jupiter asked, noticing that they weren't in the room.

"With Diana."said Amaterasu, continuing with her knitting, and mentally counting the knots. "I've arranged it so that they will not go into the room at all. They are…outside."she gestured vaguely towards the window.

"I think it's important because, it looks like,"she looked toward Amaterasu's image, making a gesture to say that she should explain.

Amaterasu simply kept her eyes fixed firmly on her knitting, not looking up, or noticing Mars's gesture. Mars looked exasperated.

"You can never get a word out of a Solarian, can you?"she muttered.

She turned towards everyone else.

"Well, these last few days, you might have noticed that Small Lady and Saturn have been acting rather…odd."she finished.

Everyone looked at her.

"I have to admit,"Neptune spoke slowly. "but I was thinking it was just due to, she was just growing up."she shrugged.

"I thought that, too."Pluto added.

"I don't know much about growing up,"Amaterasu admitted. "could that have anything to do with it?"she turned to Mars.

"I don't think so."Mars answered.

"Do with what?"obviously Kunzite didn't like not knowing what was going on.

Amaterasu put down her knitting.

"I've been thinking. This will be over, by tomorrow, the latest. I would like to study their minds a bit more closely, for one. Another, there are people on Solaria, those that are responsible for raising the youngsters, and perhaps they might be able to do something. After all, something I always heard from them was, if you know the body chemistry, you know the human being. Something like that."she said. "Perhaps they might be able to find more."

"You mean, take them with you? To Solaria? Why?"asked Venus.

"I haven't had much of a chance to study them, but I can sense…I've only read about it, in some old books I've come across in my estate. It was only a story, but the story was about, it was something like two people inhabiting the same body. Perhaps they could find something."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."Endymion said.

"I don't think I know exactly, either. But I can see their minds, and in their minds, there are others. Evil. I would almost say Chaos. But that would be impossible, wouldn't it?"

"That must have been why I had that premonition just before we came here. After all, what was different this year, but that Small Lady and Saturn would be coming with us?"Mars said, slowly.

Everyone looked genuinely worried.

"What do you think?"Mercury turned to Pluto.

Pluto held out her hand, and on it, her garnet orb appeared. Everyone leaned closer. Amaterasu used her mind to get a better view, as she couldn't get closer herself.

After they saw what the orb showed, they sat silently.

"But that was so long ago!"Neptune said. "How could they have been reborn, and still…"

"Perhaps I could use my crystal."Queen Serenity suggested.

"I think I should do some research on this."Mercury said.

"On Solaria, it'd be much harder for any form of Chaos to grow."Kunzite said. "Solaria is just the opposite of anything resembling Chaos. The Solarians themselves are…order."

"Does that mean that you're jealous that it's Small Lady and Saturn the ones who are going to Solaria, and not you?"Venus asked him.

"I guess it _would_ be for the best. Until we understand more."Kind Endymion said.


	9. Chapter 9

"Oh, boy, can you believe we're actually going to go to Solaria!"Saturn exclaimed.

"I'm going to miss Mommy and Daddy, though."Small Lady said. "I wish they were going with us."

"It's quite a privilege to go to Solaria. The Solarians never allow anyone other than themselves to be on their estates, much less their planet."Diana thought for a minute. "I think that guests usually stay in small parts of an estate. I'm not sure how they go about choosing, but away from the Solarians themselves."

"Where do you think we'll stay?"asked Saturn.

Diana shrugged.

"I guess we'll find out when we get there."she said.

They said good bye before boarding the spaceship.

"Behave yourself, Small Lady. And do everything that Amaterasu tells you."Queen Serenity told Small Lady.

Neptune said the same to Saturn, and Luna and Artemis to Diana.

"Don't worry, we'll be good."Saturn promised.

Diana nodded.

"And I won't let either of them out of my sight."Diana promised her parents.

"That's just what they want to hear!"Jadeite said. "Ow!"Mars pinched his arm.

"Just be on your best behavior."Nephrite told them.

"And I baked you some cookies to take with you."Jupiter told them.

"That's good. I don't care how many chefs, or cooks, or whatever there are on one estate on Solaria, I'll bet none of them can match any of Jupiter's cooking."Nephrite told her, kissing her.

"Thanks."said Small Lady, and they boarded the spaceship.

"Wow! It's so…roomy. It didn't look as big from the inside."Saturn exclaimed, as they looked around.

"Actually, I think it did."Diana nodded, looking around. "I think it's the biggest, even bigger than the one we came in. Anyway, we're supposed to stay in these rooms."she told them.

"We'd get lost if we tried to go anywhere else!"Small Lady told them.

Diana looked out the window.

"I think we already left. At least I can see that we took off."Diana nodded.

"Already? But I didn't feel anything!"

"I don't think on these Solarian vessels you're supposed to."

"Do you think it'll take us long to get there?"Small Lady asked.

Diana thought.

"I'm not sure. I think that Solaria is more or less the same distance as Earth from the here. At least in astronomical distances, it's pretty small. It'll probably be the same as when we came from Earth."

"Should we take a tour?"Small Lady suggested, marveling at the size of the room.

"I think we might get lost. Beside, we were told to stay here, only, and we promised we'd be good."Saturn said. "Anyway, the room is so big, we'll never see all of it in the entire trip."

She skipped to the opposite wall.

"Just look at these books! I'll bet Mercury would love this! There's probably more books in this spaceship, than in Marina Castle!"

Small Lady ran to her, with Diana on her head.

"Wow! There are a lot!"she admitted. "We'll never read them in all our lives!"

"They don't sound like they're boring, either."

They only stopped to eat, or sleep, dictated by the ship's time. The trip to Solaria took the almost the same amount of time as that from Earth to Sagitarius.

When they arrived, the only indication that they'd arrived, was that the same girl who had attended them during the journey told them they had landed on the surface of Solaria.

"How come we haven't seen Amaterasu during the whole trip?"Small Lady asked.

The girl looked at her with startled eyes, the only and first time she'd shown any expression.

"See? That's a dirty word."she simply said, and kept walking.

"But I thought she'd be disembarking with us."Saturn said.

The girl didn't hear, or at least pretended not to hear. They exclaimed when they got their first glimpse of Solaria. There were more flowers than even in the garden of the Crystal Palace back on Earth. The scents were different, too. Much stronger. The three sneezed.

"Every planet has its own unique smell. The soil, plant life, animals. You cease to notice it after a while."she told them.

"I've never seen flowers this color before!"Small Lady exclaimed. "They look like…they're made of….jewels."she said, not finding another word.

"That's simply the water that gathers on the petals. Even though Solaria is not a dry planet, the plants still store plenty of water. Of course, they lose it again."she explained to them.

She led them up to a house.

"This is where we'll be staying?"Saturn asked, in awe.

"It is the mansion, the dwelling place on this estate. You will be living on this estate, you will be living in the mansion."she said simply. "The mistress is waiting for you in one of the conversation rooms."

"She's already here? I thought we were on the same ship!"Small Lady exclaimed in disbelief.

"We never saw her."Saturn admitted.

They walked through what seemed a maze.

"How are we supposed to know our way around? This place is gigantic."Diana asked.

"If you get lost, you simply summon one of the staff."

"How long will it take for someone to get here?"

"They shall be here as soon as you summon them. We are here."

They walked into a large room, decorated in cool marble. Amaterasu was waiting for them. She looked up as soon as soon they walked. The room was obviously not meant to be occupied by more than one person at a time. There was only one chair.

"Welcome to Solaria."she said to them.

"Thank you."they answered.

"So, are you comfortable?"

"We've only been here a few minutes."Diana answered.

"Of course,"Amaterasu said.

"Who else is going to stay here with us?"Saturn asked.

"The staff. You will also visit the farm, on another region of the planet."Amaterasu told them.

"What farm?"asked Small Lady.

"The only one."said Amaterasu, clearly uncomfortable with the subject.

"So, what time do we have dinner?"asked Saturn, seeing that Amaterasu looked uncomfortable.

"At the eighth ducad."Amaterasu told her.

"What's a ducad?"asked Small Lady.

"The Solarian day is divided into ten ducads."she told them.

"Isn't a day divided into hours? Twenty four?"Saturn looked confused.

At her statement is was Amaterasu who looked confused.

"Oh! You mean, yes. It is a little difficult to get used to it, but you will. That's the trouble with traveling among different planets. That's why we don't."she told them.

"I've seen ambassadors."Small Lady offered.

Amaterasu nodded.

"Naturally. Such oddities. I never view them if I can help it, which I can't. I am, after all, planetary princess of Solaria, aren't I? But they're made to be that way. At least that's my understanding. The fetologists and eugeneticists would tell you more about them, when you speak to them."

"So, what do we do here? For fun?"asked Small Lady eagerly.

"You're time is your own. You can do as you please."Amaterasu told them.

"Really? We don't have to lessons?"Small Lady looked delighted.

"Not right now. You just got here."Amaterasu seemed surprised that they would think about lessons so soon, but one must always be considerate about the customs of other planets.

"Well, we'll see you at dinner. Uh, how do we know when it's time for dinner?"asked Saturn, looking at her watch, then at the clock on the mantelpiece.

"If you wish one of the staff will let you know."

"Can we go outside?"Small Lady asked.

"Of course. If you wish to view me, simply ask someone, and they will know how to reach me. Done viewing."


	10. Chapter 10

The three of them walked around the estate.

"We probably wouldn't be able to see all of it in our lifetimes!"exclaimed Saturn. "It's so big!"

Diana nodded.

"It seems bigger than the Crystal Palace."she said.

"Bigger than all of Crystal Tokyo!"Small Lady added.

"Probably bigger than Earth."Saturn added.

Diana turned.

"I don't think so, Princess Saturn. Bigger than Crystal Tokyo, yes, but I don't think as big as Earth."she said.

"You sound like Mercury."Small Lady rolled her eyes. "She didn't really mean that! But there isn't anyone around. How're we going to know when it's time for dinner?"

"We're supposed to summon one of the staff."Diana reminded them.

They looked around. To the right was a lake, where a waterfall that descended from the mountains poured. Behind that, more mountains, next to the lake, several stone benches, with flowers around them. Before them, a grove of trees.

"Well, it looks like an orchard. Maybe if we can't go back in time, we could eat what's there."Diana suggested.

"What if it's not in season?"Saturn asked. "At least I don't see any fruit."

"I think it could be. At least some small ones, but they're still green."said Diana.

"I'm getting kind of hungry."Small Lady admitted. "Let's go."

They walked toward the trees. As they got closer to the orchard, they could, indeed, smell fruit. At least, the scent was sweet, and fruity. Looking, at the trees, they could see the greenish fruits hanging from the branches.

"Now to get to them!"

"Diana, you can jump up there!"Small Lady exclaimed.

Diana looked up at the tree branches.

"The fruits look awfully heavy."she said.

"Well, they have to get down here, anyway!"

Diana jumped off Small Lady's head, and climbed into the branches. She pulled off several of the fruits, and Small Lady and Saturn caught them. Diana jumped off, as they settled down.

"Ugh!"Small Lady spat the piece she'd bitten off. "They're awful!"

"And awfully hard!"Saturn exclaimed, coughing, with tears coming from her eyes. "And bitter! Yuck!"

"We're lost!"Diana added. "What are we going to do?"

"Wait until we're found?"Saturn suggested.

"But this place is huge! How will anyone ever find us?"said Small Lady.

"We could go back the way we came."Diana suggested.

"It's getting dark! And besides, what if we can't find our way back."

"And if it gets cold?"

They argued back and forth, ending up staying where they were in the orchard.

'I think there's someone coming!"Diana said. "I think I hear footsteps."

"It could be just an animal."

From among the trees, a figure emerged. It was a girl, dressed in the simplest, clothes, almost rags that either Small Lady or Saturn had seen. She was not well dressed like the one who had escorted them off the spaceship, and her hair was held back with a handkerchief.

"I was sent to look for you."she told them.

"Who are you?"asked Saturn.

"I was sent to look for you. The Lady sent for you."she said, simply.

"I asked who are you?"Saturn repeated.

The girl merely blinked, as though she didn't understand the question.

"I can take you back to the mansion."she said, holding out her hand.

"I guess we should go with her. After all, maybe she knows the way."Small Lady said.

As soon as all three of them had taken her hand, they felt the ground drop from under their feet, and saw a swirl of color, they could feel vibrating, they landed on their feet again, and found themselves inside a room. There was a table, and a supper ready. Amaterasu sat at the opposite end of the room.

"How did we get here?"asked Small Lady.

"Teleporting."Amaterasu told them. "As you can see, the estate is quite large, and that's one of the modes of travel we use here most."

"How did you find us?"Diana asked, astounded.

"The laborers kept an eye on you, of course. That's what they're there for. You only had to summon one of them."

They looked perplexed.

"They knew where we were?"Small Lady asked.

Amaterasu nodded.

"Of course. It's almost impossible to get lost here."

"I don't see how that's impossible. We got lost!"Small Lady answered.

"You only had to summon someone."

"How?"asked Saturn.

Amaterasu giggled.

"Oh, I suppose I forgot to tell you. You only summon them with your mind. You simply…think."she told them.

"Think?"

Amaterasu nodded.

"All the laborers on each estate, are bound to one Solarian, in this case, since this is my estate, me. However, they will also respond to your summons, and orders while you are here. It's not customary to have guests, of course, but…"Amaterasu spread her arms. "well, here you are! I suppose we could start."

She gestured toward the table. Small Lady and Saturn sat, and began to eat enthusiastically.

"I'm starving!"Small Lady said between bites.

Saturn nodded in agreement.

"We found some fruit."Saturn told her. "In an orchard. But it tasted awful!"

Amaterasu listened patiently, and nodded.

"Awful? I've never come across anything that comes off the trees that tastes awful. It wouldn't be grown if it did."she told them.

"They were green, and very, very hard. They hurt your teeth."

"Oh, you must mean the matums."Amaterasu smiled. "Oh, they're quite delicious, actually, if you eat them in jams, or puddings. They're extremely bitter, and hard when you try to eat them raw, but cooking makes them more edible. And very delightful, as well. You could have some of the paste, pudding, or pastries, for dessert. You'll see, they're much more pleasant once you boil them."she explained. "Besides, they smell so nice."Amaterasu looked thoughtful. "I've read in books, that people use things call perfume. I know because I've traveled from Solaria, and met people from other star systems. People do have a certain scent. Especially the Kinmokians. I don't know about the native population, but I know their princess does. I've smelled it even from a distance. Matums are one of the scents I like to keep about me. Sometimes I have the staff place them in the rooms. The scent stays in the room, then."

"They did smell nice."Saturn admitted.

Small Lady and Diana nodded. Amaterasu nodded, and smiled.

"Of course."she paused. "You took a while to teleport."she said.

"It happened really fast."Diana told her.

Amaterasu simply shook her head.

"I suppose you should get some sleep. Would you like someone to take you to your sleeping quarters?"she asked them.

Saturn nodded.

"We don't want to get lost again."

Almost immediately, a girl stood beside them.

"Done viewing."she said, as she watched their image leave.

She summoned the same girl who had teleported Small Lady and Saturn.

"_The teleporting should have been immediately_."Amaterasu told the girl in perfect Solarian.

"_There was a disturbance_."the girl answered in Solarian as well.

"_Disturbance?_"Amaterasu looked interested.

The girl nodded.

"_It was like an outside force. It tried to stray us, and I lost control for a moment, but I regained it almost immediately. Very dark as well._"

Amaterasu nodded, and ordered the girl to leave. So, it could affect others as well?she wondered. She was going to keep an especially close eye on them.


	11. Chapter 11

They'd been on Solaria almost three weeks. At least three weeks, as it would've been using Earth time. On Solaria, they'd learned, time was of little importance. The only importance that time had on Solaria was simply for the seasons of the year, and that was usually for the laborers in the fields. As far as the Solarians themselves were concerned, the only importance time held for them was for how to dress for the weather, and the length of the days. Though, since the population was widely scattered, where it could be day for one person, and the middle of the night for another. They'd alternated staying between Amaterasu's estate, and what she and others referred to as the farm.

There, they'd see other children their own age, younger and older, and they had no prejudice against seeing. The only adult on the farm, who was also in charge of it, was hardly ever in sight, except when she would take samples, such as hair, or blood from them, or any of the others.

They were given special privileges, to walk around the entire complex, which the other children didn't. They walked around the corridors, and approached a room, where one of the caretakers stopped them.

"You're not supposed to be here."she told them.

"We're allowed."Diana told them.

The girl looked observed Diana.

"You may,"she looked at the two girls. "You may not! Especially you,"she gestured toward Saturn. "You're too old to be seeing anyone, anymore."

"Why?"

"You're too old. You should be viewing."

"But we're not Solarians. We're from Earth."Diana said.

"The mistress doesn't like to see anyone, when it is possible to avoid it. Unfortunately, she must see the children, as it is she who must raise them, and graduate only the healthy ones into adulthood, but it's not necessary to see anyone else."

They turned.

"What an attitude! Do you think maybe she's related to Kunzite?"Small Lady said, as they walked away.

"I've heard they come from just about anywhere."Diana told her. "They're trained, and joint telepathically to their masters, but that they'd be better off here, than on their native planets. Shouldn't we go outside? The rest of the children are there, and we could play a game. It's kind of boring here."

Small Lady, and Saturn, however, seemed oblivious to her voice. They seemed intent on getting somewhere, though Diana had no clue where.

"Um, Small Lady? Princess Saturn?"she asked.

Apart from Amaterasu, the only Solarian they had seen was simply the one on this estate. They remembered that she, just like Amaterasu, had worn a ring, on her right hand. Each of the younger Solarians also wore rings similar to theirs, but much less elaborate. They had asked, and been told that the rings symbolized their status. That the ones with the best genes wore the most elaborate rings. The bearer of the Sailor Crystal, wore the most elaborate one, and lived on the biggest estate. Others were granted estates, depending on their genes as well. They walked into a lab.

"What are you doing here?"they saw the her turn from her work.

"Um, perhaps we should go outside."Diana insisted.

She looked at them, and saw, suddenly that they both looked different.

"Small Lady? Princess Saturn?"she inquired. "Are you feeling well?"

The Solarian looked quizzically at them.

"Perhaps I should analyze you."she said.

She turned, and reached for her gloves. Despite the fact that her profession required personal presence, she never went out among the children, or touched them without her gloves, and she usually wore two pairs. Even under the gloves, though, they could see where she wore her ring. They watched as she gathered her things.

"You two do look a bit strange."she shook her head. "but then with these genes. I will never understand why people allow their offspring to be borne without analyzing them genetically first, and weeding themselves eugenically."

Small Lady and Saturn seemed to be reading each other's thoughts. As the Solarian reached out towards them, Saturn reached out and touched her face, the only part of her bare skin that was exposed. The Solarian screamed, and backed away from them. As she lost her usual self control, Small Lady ran and pulled her gloves off her right hand.

"Small Lady? Princess Saturn? What are you doing?"Diana asked, alarmed.

Saturn then pulled the Solarian's ring off her hand. Diana looked at them, shocked. They seemed to have forgotten her, as they attacked the Solarian. She lay on the ground, unconscious.

"Miss?"Diana asked.

Seeing that there was nothing she could for the Solarian, she ran after Small Lady and Saturn.

"Princess!"she exclaimed.

What could possibly be happening?she asked herself. There was no one she could ask for help. As the Solarian had, apparently, suffered a great shock, after all, for someone who lived years avoiding touching, and seeing, the surprise she must have gotten when she had felt another's touch upon her bare skin must have been a great fright. That must have been why she fainted, and the staff on the estate being joint telepathically to her, seemed to have suffered the shock as well. She could see the looks of pain on their faces. But she didn't catch sight of either Small Lady, or Saturn anywhere.

"Where could they be?"Diana asked herself.

There was no one to ask, and she knew no other Solarian on the planet. Except for the princess. But she couldn't reach her. Only Solarians had the ability to view others without the aid of the viewer, using only their minds. She would have to use a viewer, and she had no clue how to use one, either. Nor did she know at what viewer combination Amaterasu could be reached. Perhaps she could get to the estate? But how? She had no idea where the royal estate was. Knowing Solarians the way she did, she knew that they considered the farm an unpleasant place, and the princess's estate would be the furthest from it. Probably on the other side of the planet. And to get to another estate, and find another Solarian?


	12. Chapter 12

Amaterasu sat in front of the image of the King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo, along with their guardians.

"What do you mean you haven't heard from them?"Kunzite's image yelled at her.

Amaterasu frowned.

"I don't allow anyone to speak to me that way."she said, stiffly.

Usually, she would break contact at once, but she decided that wouldn't be the best in this case.

"Kunzite, I think that you should control yourself."said Endymion, sternly.

He was the only one to whom Kunzite would listen to. Kunzite took his seat again, stiffly.

"I told you, the activity ceased on the…that particular estate."Amaterasu told them. "The only explanation is that,"she shook her head. "Just where will we find another fetologist? With that being such a disgusting profession, and she, oh, well,"she shrugged. "I suppose she brought another up, or cloned. After all, we do need one. I don't understand just how it could have happened. I don't think she could have died. I've read of such things happening on other planets, of course, but here? People do die, but, I don't want to think about that anymore."

"But where could my daughter be?"Queen Serenity asked, obviously distressed.

"They couldn't have wondered far from the estate!"Amaterasu said. "It happened in the building, and that's practically at the center. It's impossible to wonder too far in one day to leave the estate, unless you were planning on leaving for any reason. Then you'd take a plane, or something to get to your destination, but no one would leave their estate. They should still be on that estate! But there are no signs of mental activity from the estate. If even one person, one member of the staff were conscious, we'd know! As far as the children are concerned…they're, the point is, that Small Lady and Saturn are not on the estate, and I fear, I fear the reason the fetologist…is because they, I believe they were involved."

"What? What do you mean? Small Lady's powers haven't awoken yet, and Saturn, it's not time for Saturn's powers to awaken yet, either."Mercury told her.

Amaterasu nodded.

"I learned as much from their minds, that's why I think they were involved."

"You're not making any sense."Jadeite shook his head.

"I don't understand much myself, either. I have sent someone to search through the files, to see if she uncovered anything before she…before this happened. I don't much about eugenics myself, but I know a bit, we all do. It is the key to our society. It is that that determines whether birth can be risked."

"We're not interested in your Solarian peculiarities."said Kunzite. "Where is the princess?"he asked angrily.

One of the staff walked into Amaterasu's room, out of the range of seeing of the others.

"Princess, one of the young lady's companions has arrived."the young girl told her.

"Companions?"she asked.

Diana walked in.

"Diana!"

Amaterasu rose, to greet her.

"Small Lady and Princess Saturn have disappeared!"she told Amaterasu.

"I know! But you should have some inkling as to where they are."Amaterasu demanded.

"They weren't themselves!"Diana told her.

"And who else could they be?"Amateras asked.

"I don't know. They suddenly seemed to…like they were possessed. They couldn't hear me, and they just walked in to the room, where the Solarian worked, and it was like…they had it all planned, but I don't know why."

Small Lady and Saturn woke up. They weren't at the farm any longer. Simply out in the wilderness.

"Where are we?"Small Lady asked Saturn. "Diana?"she called out.

Saturn looked around.

"I don't know, Small Lady. But where's Diana? Diana?"

"Um, wait, shouldn't we summon someone?"suggested Small Lady. "Um,"she concentrated.

"There's no one coming. How come?"asked Saturn.

"I don't know. Maybe we're not trying hard enough. Or we should just find our way back!"

They both knew that the young Solarians would probably laugh at them, if they ever found out that they couldn't do something so simple like calling on someone. The Solarians seemed to have a knack for learning telepathy, transduction, or languages. They amused themselves watching Small Lady and Saturn struggle with those subject. Although they had no particular talent for any games, or any of the fun things that Small Lady and Saturn enjoyed.

"But I don't remember how we got here!"Small Lady said, sounding worried. "And where Diana went! Just where are we, and how did we get here?"

"I don't know, Small Lady. And no one answers our summons. Could we be so far away? Or have wandered too far, and left he estate?"

"But we'd be on another estate, then, wouldn't we?"Small Lady asked.

"What are we going to do."

On the royal estate, Amaterasu stood up.

"A definite whiff of human thought has reached the neighboring estates, from the estate where Small Lady and Saturn were."she told the images of the King, Queen, and their guardians. "It's quite possible that it was them. Someone has been sent to investigate."she told them. "We should know soon."

"How soon?"asked Jupiter.

"Are they all right? It was very frightening."Diana said. "They weren't themselves."

Amaterasu shook her head.

"I'm sure that we must take immediate action!"she told the images. "It looks like it is taking over! Before she…before that happened, it looks like the fetologist did find something."she looked confused. "Psychology isn't something that's of much interest here, really, but fetologist, said it was something like, a multiple personality disorder."Amaterasu looked utterly confused.

Everyone else looked just as confused, except for Mercury, who looked horrified.

"Both?she asked.

"It looks like she thought it must have been something common among those of your star system."Amaterasu explained. "After all, they were the only non Solarians, and had nothing else in common, really, except that neither were native Solarians. And they were both from your stat system."

"And what can we do?"asked Venus.

"I suppose finding them would be a start."said Zoicite.

"And how many other personalities do they have?"Mercury asked her.

"It looks like they each have two. She was going to try to bring them out, and speak to them, but was unable due to…what happened."Amaterasu told them. "But just from observing them telepathically, she could tell that they were dark. Very dark."Amaterasu looked uncomfortable. "Is it common among your people?"she asked.

"No."Mercury told them.

"What are we going to do?"

"It must be Chaos. Dark Lady and Mistress 9."Queen Serenity said.

"But that's impossible!"Amaterasu told them.


	13. Chapter 13

Small Lady and Saturn found themselves back in Amaterasu's estate. Amaterasu paced back and forth, oblivious to the fact that she was in the same room as them.

"Where have you been?"she asked them.

"We don't remember."Saturn told her.

"We were so worried about you!"Diana told them.

"You don't remember, you don't remember."Amaterasu simply repeated. "Why? Why not? I don't understand."she kept pacing back and forth. "Queen Serenity-"she stopped, sensing the other presence. "No!"she exclaimed, using her own telepathy, to hold the other ones back.

Small Lady and Saturn knelt down, feeling a great headache coming on.

"I'm sorry. I had to."Amaterasu told them. "What was it, was it the name? Was it-"she decided not to mention it again. "I think I will leave you here tonight. You will not leave this room. There is no way out, except the door, and the door will be heavily guarded, and it leads to my own room, anyway. So, there will be absolutely no chance of you escaping without my noticing, and I will notice, even sleeping."

Amaterasu finally left the room.

"I'm glad she's gone. She was making me nervous, pacing up and down like that. Why do you think she was so scared?"asked Small Lady.

Saturn looked thoughtful.

"Maybe she was worried something might happen to us. But I thought that there was no danger here?"she said.

"Why are we being locked in, though?"

"I think it's so you wouldn't escape and get lost again!"Diana exclaimed. "We were all so worried! I made it back to this estate, because I figured out how to work the viewer, and I just used any combination. It got me to another estate, I told them, and they send me here. Just what got into you!"she demanded.

Diana never spoke harshly to either of them, but she couldn't help herself.

"I'm sorry."she apologized to them. "I should not have spoken harshly to either of you."

"You must have been scared, I guess."Saturn confirmed.

Diana nodded.

"But tell us what happened, Diana? We just ran off like that!"Small Lady sounded incredulous.

"You really weren't yourselves."she insisted.

"I think we'd better go to sleep, instead. I'm tired, anyway."said Saturn.

Small Lady agreed. Amaterasu, meanwhile, kept pacing back and forth in her bedroom. She'd read and heard about insomnia, and people who couldn't sleep nights due to stress. She'd always found it amusing and unbelievable that such things could people from sleeping. It was something that only happened in books, or perhaps on other planets. Of course, she could deal with stress, she was after all, the princess, and according to the fetologists, she was genetically designed to deal with stress, but none like this one. She thought she could distract herself with a bit of reading, but nothing seemed to grab her attention. Finally, she settled for reading what had been recovered from the other estate.

"Small Lady? Princess Saturn?"Diana asked.

Even though they had both slept peacefully, she could hear them moaning.

"I'd better get the lady."she said to herself, and ran towards Amaterasu's room.

"What's the matter?"Amaterasu put her needlework down, looking almost relieved to see her. "I couldn't sleep."she said to her.

Perhaps that was it felt like to want company. She sometimes wished she could speak to the domestic staff, say more than just give them orders.

"Neither can Small Lady and Princess Saturn."Diana told her.

"Why not?"

"They're having those nightmares again."she explained.

Amaterasu shook her head.

"They would be at their weakest sleeping. The Others would be trying to emerge now. They would be relaxed!"

She realized how little she knew about the workings of a person's mind, even with her telepathic powers. Someone entered the door, unannounced.

"Out."Amaterasu simply said.

"The privacy of the estate is about to be violated, Princess."

Amaterasu's head shot up.

"What?"

"They say they come from Earth."

"I don't think that the queen should come here!"Amaterasu told Diana. "It appears that the Others are…angered by her. It would be best to not let her near them."

The others disembarked the ship, Amaterasu met them in the front hall.

"I'm trying to keep them restrained, but it proves harder every minute. They keep getting stronger."she told them.

"Just how could this have happened?"Jadeite asked. "What can we do?"

"Well, one way would be, as they would be trapped in the same body, we could get rid of them."Amaterasu suggested. "Without a body, even the Others couldn't survive."

"But what about Small Lady and Saturn?"cried Jupiter.

Amaterasu looked confused.

"I just don't know what else to do!"she told them. "All I can do is restrain them. The energy for me is no problem, but they fight."

"Then what should we do?"Diana cried.

Amaterasu sat thinking.

"It's rather odd."she said. "I remember, when I was very young, a girl told me about someone just like that, only instead of two, with three. One was clearly dominating her. She was able to break free by witnessing the same event that caused the others to appear."

"Do you think that might work?"asked Zoicite.

Amaterasu simply shrugged.

"Well, Small Lady felt alone, and Saturn…I'm not sure, but she was very lonely as well. Small Lady was her only friend."

"So, we simply leave them alone?"asked Diana.

"No, that wouldn't do. It should be…close to despair. Almost like pain, but not really pain."

Everyone looked surprised at Amaterasu's statement.

"I always thought you would have no clue about such things. At least that's what you always said."

"I am a Solarian. Even though, no one would admit it, well, at least I, do feel lonesome at times. Perhaps while I am still restraining them, I can also pass some of my own…pain to them."

"We could give it a try."

"I can't believe it actually worked!"said Amaterasu. "I have erased it from their minds, so they won't remember even their stay here. I, thought it for the best."her image told them. "Although, I never thought I'd here myself say this, but I do miss having someone else around."

"I know. Being lonely is sad."Queen Serenity replied, nodding.

"I suppose that must have been why the Others were returning. And being present at the same place…"

Queen Serenity nodded.

"Yes, that is very sad. I always hoped that you would change your way of life."she said.

Amaterasu shrugged.

"It's simply the way things are."


End file.
